It is known that chlorine-based disinfectants such as those containing hypochlorite, for example sodium hypochlorite, are useful in destroying pathogens such as bacteria. These disinfectants suffer from the disadvantage that they have an offensive odor of chlorine and potential users of such disinfectants object to the smell of chlorine and thus such disinfectants tend not to be the disinfectant of choice. In addition, a hypochlorite-based composition tends not to have a very long shelf-life because of the relative instability of aqueous hypochlorite.
We have now found, and herein lies our invention, that the combination of t-butanol and hypochlorite in a disinfectant composition: (1) reduces the offensive odor that results from the hypochlorite; (2) provides for a longer shelf-life because the t-butanol acts as a stabilizer for the hypochlorite; and (3) provides a composition of biocidal activity generally higher than that provided by prior art compositions.
According to the invention, as claimed herein, there is provided a novel aqueous solution containing hypochlorite ions wherein there is present a tertiary aliphatic alcohol such as t-butanol.
The art of which applicants are aware does not teach that incorporation of t-butanol into a hypochlorite disinfectant composition will provide added biocidal activity or stabilization. Siklosi U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,080 in fact suggests that alcohols having greater than 5 carbon atoms are more stable than a lower alcohol such as t-butanol, in the presence of hypochlorite. Other art suggests that the combination of hypochlorite and t-butanol is useful only in the context of a reaction, i.e., the reaction of the two compounds to produce alkyl hypochlorites (see, e.g., Katz U.S. Pat. No. 2,694,722).